This disclosure is directed to systems and methods for facilitating communication between transceivers using different protocols.
Communication systems use differing communication protocols to structure and interpret content within a transmission. These protocols allow for rapid and verifiable transmission and reception of data including audio data. Such protocols are used in all manner of communication devices including, for example, handheld wireless communication, long-range data/voice communication, electronic or electro-optical wired communication systems, and other like systems.
As communication systems continue to evolve at an ever increasing rate, the possibility of one or more components of a communication system, or entire communication systems, becoming obsolete or incompatible with other systems with which they are intended to communicate, particularly with reference to compatible protocols used in these systems, grows.
One area in which such obsolescence or incompatibility is particularly acute is with respect to aircraft communications. As a specific example, Oceanic Clearance Delivery (OCD) involves formatted messaging provided to aircrew, via voice communication or data link communication systems, advising the air crew of clearance to fly over the North Atlantic. Included in these messages are airspeed and altitude information provided generally in a re-formatted electronic format. This electronic information is generally presented in a single protocol that is compatible with the newest aircraft avionics suites. If an aircraft does not employ the newest aircraft avionics suite, reversion must be had to conventional voice (HF radio) systems that are, in general, heavily congested and may lead to delays. It is precisely this congestion and delay concern that led to the introduction of OCD for delivering clearances in the above-described electronic data format.
The newest systems discussed above provide that aircraft use one of their onboard computers, that are able to transmit, for example, an ARINC 623 protocol/formatted (623) message containing a request for a data link received OCD, sent from the aircraft, via any one of a variety of communication means. A 623 message request is received by a host processor. The host processor validates the request and advises the aircraft through a return 623 message that the request is acknowledged and to await further information. Once the clearance is acknowledged, the host processor sends the OCD to the aircraft as a 623 message. In addition to aircraft clearance information, there are several other messages pertaining to OCD that may be passed. As technology enhances over the upcoming years, other 623 and even newer protocol messages will appear in the industry.